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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. rule — a law
  3. spring — a coil
  4. field — farmland
  5. field — a subject
  6. rule — government
  7. spell — a short time
  8. spring — the season
  9. spring — of water
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. root — of a word
  13. degree — temperature
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. spell — magic
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. degree — from a university
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. root — the cause
  20. spell — letters
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. pound — a weight
  23. root — of a plant
  24. degree — an amount

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com